Alternative Careers for Lawyers

Mediate2go.com: Alternative Careers for Lawyers, Career Change for Lawyers

Alternative Careers for Lawyers

 
This article is to provide some guidance on alternative careers for lawyers. Mediate2go.com is your perfect resource in terms of thinking about alternatives to the law. Maybe you're a law student who has not yet finished your degree, yet feel that law may not be for you. Or maybe you are a lawyer who has worked in law for years, and you are considering making a change, or maybe simply just wanting to read what this blog post is about. Be sure to check out our blog on mediation jobs.

Currently a Lawyer?

• Why do I want to leave? Was there a triggering moment?
• How do I cope with the stress of the job?
• Was there a time when I felt happy in the job? Might I feel happy if worked in the same field but in a different workplace?
• Is there something else in my life that is causing me distress? Is this actually related to my career as a lawyer or other contributing stresses?

Mediate2go.com: Alternative Careers for Lawyers

These questions are meant to prompt reflection. If there was a triggering moment or stress that could be resolved in the future, and the job has always provided a great deal of fulfillment, then leaving the career might not be the best decision. Also, if there's something else in your life that is causing a great deal of distress, or if you are not managing stress to the best of your ability, maybe the workplace itself is not the only concern. Maybe changes can be made in the way that you cope with issues, and this might have a positive impact on your life. However, you are the best judge as to whether an alternative career is right for you as a lawyer.

Mediate2go.com has everything you need to become a successful mediator, from marketing your brand online, managing client intake, managing mediation cases and more!

Currently a Law Student?

If you are currently a law student, you have likely heard about some of the main issues faced within the legal profession. If you yourself do not have family in the legal profession, speak to friends and feel free to conduct informational interviews of lawyers in particular fields to determine the following about potential jobs:

• The Stress: what types of stressors are involved in the job and is there time to cope with these sufficiently?
• The Lifestyle: what type of lifestyle is possible or even expected?
• Matters of the heart: what is motivating within the job?
• Different Values/Culture: does the team and workplace overall reflect your values? Do you feel that your identity is recognized and valued within this environment?
• Interested: does this area of the law truly interest you?

Mediate2go.com has everything you need to become a successful mediator, from marketing your brand online, managing client intake, managing mediation cases and more!

Mediate2go.com: Alternative Careers for Lawyers, Career Change for Lawyers

Consult a Professional

When deciding whether you might prefer an alternative career to law, we recommend making an appointment with a registered employment counselor, preferably one who has experience with many lawyer clients, or even one who is/was a lawyer themselves.

What will an employment counselor help you with? An employment counselor will ask particular questions to help you determine whether your interests and skills match particular types of job. They often have various types of surveys that can provide a great deal of insight into what motivates you. In addition, they are a great person to speak to about this very important life decision.

In addition to speaking with an employment counselor, Psychology Today recommends that you look at the following and measure each component related to your current or potentially future work (see their article if I read here):

• Learning: How much do you learn at your current place of work? Do you feel fulfilled by the amount of learning that is taking place?
• Value: Are your values aligned with the team and workplace? Do you often feel conflicted in your role and/or the organization?
• Money: Do you feel like you are being fairly treated in terms of the compensation you receive?
• Potential: Do you have the potential to move up within the organization?
• Change: Are you ready to make a big change in your life? Do you have sufficient coping mechanisms to do this?
• Fear: How much fear do you have of the change? Would you still be happier regardless of feeling that fear? Would it be worth it?

If you're currently a law students, you might also want to consider the benefits of writing the bar exams, articling and completing an internship.

• Salary and Benefits: am I able to afford my debt payments if I were to work elsewhere?
• Protecting your Investment: would it be better for me to gain supervised legal experience in addition to my title, even if I do decide to complete an alternative career outside of law? Will this additional credibility help in my alternative career? 

Law-related careers:

There are plenty of alternative careers to working as a lawyer or litigator, yet still working in the field related to the law. The following are some examples of jobs where the training of law is useful, and some of the contents of the work is related two law:

• Mediator "How to Become a Mediator" by Mediate2go.com
• Managing a non-profit involved in legal issues
• Peacemaking
• Teaching
• See more about a career as a college teacher here.
• See more about this career here:

• Librarian
• Legal Researcher
• Career Counseling
• Lobbyist

Search: #Alternative-Careers-for-Lawyers, #Alternative-Careers-for-Jurists, #Alternative-law-jobs, #I-hate-being-a-lawyer

Alternative Careers for Lawyers

Teamwork and Success

Mediate2go.com - Teamwork

"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." -Theodore Roosevelt

At Mediate2go.com, we know the benefits of teamwork. When we work together, we can achieve more then the sum of our respective parts - this is called synergy. The possibilities are endless when we collaborate with one another and creatively find solutions to our commonly shared challenges.Teamwork and collaboration means we have more ideas, more past experiences and more connections to share with one another. This is why the most successful businesses, organizations and governments focus on teamwork, diversity and collaboration - everyone benefits, including the organization.

As mediators, conflict coaches and collaborative lawyers, we must constantly communicate with one-another and our clients, asking questions to challenge our current thinking to better expand possibilities. Although one might think it's easier to do things alone, one must be challenged to think of the benefits of collaborating. 

Visit Mediate2go.com and sign up for a free account to learn how to get along with your friends, family, co-workers or neighbours. 

Related links:

• Wiki on Teamwork
• How to Fix a Relationship
• Definition of Trust 

Search: #teamwork, #success, #synergy, #collaboration

Bullying and Harassment

Mediate2go.com: Bullying, Harassment, Quote by Maya Angelou

Not everyone is taught the benefits of diversity during their childhood. Often, we meet people who have difficulty accepting others in the world, including in the workplace. Sometimes, these situations escalate. This blog will detail how to deal with a workplace bully. Please leave comments at the end if you have additional questions.

Dealing with a workplace bully, such as a boss or co-worker can have devastating consequences. Sometimes open confrontation may not be appropriate or useful, so here are some general recommendations to deal with someone who exhibits a toxic personality. Remember, the power difference between you and a workplace bully may be significant. It’s important to be conscious of this and to find safe and appropriate ways of empowering yourself to move to a better situation, either inside of outside of the organization.

1. Talk to your union and find out what your government says about workplace harassment. Some countries offer special assistance in harassment cases. They can also tell you if your complaint might be allowable.
2. Built alliances with others if you sense they are experiencing the same. Be careful in doing so as this may backfire. [i]
3. Know your true worth on the market and always have other options. Applying for jobs even if you love your current job. Do so discretely. This is an easy way of ensuring that you have other options and contacts if you are forced to make a move outside of the organization.
4. Try to assess how you could improve your performance, and if objectively, you are doing something incorrectly. Sometimes we feel defensive when receiving feedback. We may feel as if our managers are attacking our identity. However, ask a colleague, preferably in the same position, if you are doing a good job. Tell your manager your intention is to do a good job and that you are willing to do your best.
5. If the manager is indeed being inappropriate, with a consistently aggressive tone, using insults, and so forth, be sure to document everything.
6. Be the bigger person and do not respond with threats, emotion or an equally aggressive tone. By reacting in a calm and collected manor, acknowledging what was said, “…you effectively strip all of the power behind their verbal attacks without [escalating] the conflict. If your boss happens to be intimidating or controlling, then the best way of dealing with their behaviour is to remain calm and acknowledge their power. Consider turning the discussion into one that is focused on goals[ii].
7. Escalate your complaint up the hierarchy of the organization as a last resort.

Conflict at work can be extremely draining and time consuming. The dynamics can be extremely complex, so see professional advice outside of the workplace.

Resources:

Canada (for employees) and Canada (for managers)

UK

New Zealand

General

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[i]           Loo, Tristan. (2008) http://conflict911.com/guestconflict/difficultboss.htm

[ii]           Loo, Tristan. (2008) http://conflict911.com/guestconflict/difficultboss.htm

Search: #harassment, #bullying, #walking-on-eggshells, #stop-walking-on-eggshells, #Maya-Angelou, #Diversity

Levels of Conflict

Mediate2go.com: Levels of Conflict

To fully understand organizational conflict, it is important to distinguish the types and levels of conflict. While many of these types of conflict apply to organizations, they may also apply outside of that context. The text Organizational Behavior by Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn (2000) was helpful in providing a framework of organizational terms.

The following are types of conflict, which are the medium within which conflict occurs in organizations.

• Intra-organizational conflict is an umbrella term for any type of conflict that takes place within one organization.
• Interpersonal conflict is one of the lowest levels of conflict, taking place between two or more individuals within the organization who are oppose one another, knowingly or not. Sometimes one employee may be frustrated with their boss, but never bring forward their concern.
• Intra-group conflict is conflict exists between members of one particular group, say members of a hiring committee that don’t agree a new candidate.
• Inter-group conflict is conflict among members of two or more different groups, such as between management and employees.
• Inter-departmental conflict is similar, but at the level of departments.
• Inter-organizational conflict occurs between different organizations, such as between two competing firms in an industry.

Mediate2go.com: Levels of Conflict

Within these various levels, conflicts can have various dynamics and directions. It’s useful to understand in which category a conflict belongs in order to take into account every individual involved and the power dynamics at play.

• Vertical conflict occurs between hierarchical levels, say between management and employees.
• Horizontal conflict, on the other hand, takes place between different individuals, groups or departments at the same hierarchical level, say between two competing departments that have similar power and authority in different areas.

Specific types of conflict within these vertical and horizontal levels include the following common types.

• Line-staff conflict is conflict about who has power and official authority over specific tasks and processes.
• Role conflict is about expectations of tasks, primarily when they are not communicated effectively or the communication given is not received effectively. Work-flow interdependency conflict takes place when groups and individuals that are inter-dependent (rely on one another) must collaborate together but fail to do so effectively.
• Domain ambiguities or role-conflict take place when people or teams are put in unclear situations and they do not understand who must take responsibility.
• Resource scarcity conflicts, a common type of conflict in organizations, takes place where resources are scarce, such as during financial constraints or even if office space is limited, creating conflicts between individuals, teams and departments.
• Power or value asymmetries are conflicts at a fundamental level, where people that rely on one another are seemingly starkly different from each other in the areas of status, values or influence.

Visit Mediate2go.com to self-resolve your conflicts, or to find a mediator to help you resolve more complex issues.

Search: #Levels-of-Conflict, #Conflict-Analysis

Inner Peace, Finding Inner Peace

Mediate2go.com, Inner Peace, Finding Inner Peace

Conflict can bring a great deal of pain. However, it can also bring opportunity. Try using Mediate2go.com to self-resolve your conflict so that you can feel better about life. It's completely free, so check it out. We also have a list of professional mediators. 

#inner-peace, #finding-inner-peace, #conflict-resolution, #mediation-works, #happiness

What is Mediation? The Definition of Mediation.

What is Mediation? The Definition of Mediation - Mediate2go.com

Mediation is the process of helping two or more people resolve conflict with the help of a neutral and impartial third party. Mediation has been increasing in popularity over the past few years, given the various benefits of resolving conflict outside of the court room. Mediation is confidential and is focused on resolving issues through improving communication - so the process often leads parties to find an understanding of one-another, in addition to creative outcomes that might not be available according to a court ruling.

Mediate2go.com provides a list of qualified practitioners, that can help you resolve your conflict. Whether you have a dispute related to divorce, separation, workplace conflict, consumer issues or otherwise, we can help you connect with a professional right away.

Search: #What-is-Mediation? #The-Definition-of-Mediation, #mediation-works, #neutral-third-party, #conflict-resolution, #directory-of-mediators.

How to Become a Mediator - in 11 steps!

A blog about becoming a mediator.

Mediate2go.com: How to Become a Mediator, Illustration by Vivian Yu

How to Become a Mediator - in 11 Steps

Mediate2go.com is happy to provide you advice on how to become a mediator, conflict coach or conflict resolution practitioner in general. Our best advice is to sign up for the Mediate2go.com Case Manager, which can help you build your practice to become a successful mediator.

Mediation Philosophy

Becoming a good mediator will require a great deal of deep inner reflection in addition to years of hard work, developing the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and credibility. Traditionally, only experienced lawyers and judges were seen as credible mediators. Today, a good mediator is seen as someone who has basic legal knowledge, someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent, someone who is a strong communicator, someone who is friendly and able to connect with everyone in the mediation room while being perceived as a neutral and impartial third-party. Provided that mediators do not provide advice on the actual "content" of the dispute (making decisions to resolve the parties conflict), is not necessary that a mediator be a lawyer or a judge. Some of the best mediators are experts in communication, therapy, relationships and other areas of expertise.

If you are considering a career in the mediation, please review our 10 steps to success. We make no promises that it will be easy, especially for young people who are just starting out their career. Very often, you will be competing against very experienced mediators who have developed a strong client base and credibility over the years in another field, such as law. At the same time, if your dream is to become a mediator, do not give up, and continue to work towards this goal, knowing that it might take a few years to have enough clients to work as a mediator either part or full time. If anything, the dedication required to become a mediator will test whether it is the right career for you.

In order to become a good or great mediator, you must be effective at resolving your own personal conflicts. Maybe your friends tell you that you are great listener, that you are loyal and that you can always keep your friend’s secrets. These are great qualities in a mediator, given that mediators must both be the experts at listening, both to their clients and encouraging listening amongst their clients. In addition, mediators are legally and contractually required to maintain confidentiality in terms of their clients information and the communication exchanged before, during and after mediation, so keeping secrets is a natural part of the job.

Now, you can walk into the mediation room using Mediate2go.com with your phone or iPad, and just focus on what matters; helping the parties. 

However, these skills are not enough to be good mediator. The best mediators have faced their own conflicts and developed rich personal insights into relationships, based on all of this experience. Completing a few courses or even a degree in mediation and conflict resolution does not imply that someone will be a good mediator. Rather, it is a combination of theoretical and practical experience. Similar to psychologists in training who must attend therapy, mediators should constantly engage in self reflection and ensure that they look at themselves realistically and honestly, in order to see where the strengths and weaknesses are in dealing with conflict. Some mediators will even go to therapy in order to gain some of these deeper insights. To be a great mediator is to dedicate your professional life and sometimes life overall to learning about conflict resolution. You must constantly learn about conflict and be open to hearing feedback from others. You should also speak with colleagues in the field to debrief cases regularly.

Now, see some of these practical ways to become a mediator. We recommend initiating each step in this order or concurrently. However, you may choose a different order based on your personal situation. This list is based on our own research.

Mediate2go.com is the easiest and most affordable way to build your mediation and conflict coaching practice. Get more clients and modernize your practice with Mediate2go.com Case Manager. It only takes a few minutes to set up your personalized profile.

Step 1: Courses in Mediation and Conflict Resolution

Our first recommendation is to search for courses in mediation and conflict resolution. Courses in law are not enough to become a mediator because they are based on an adversarial legal system, which is the very opposite of what must be achieved in mediation.

Some courses can be extremely expensive, yet their contents similar. Thus, we recommend that you research all the courses that are in your area and see what is available at a reasonable price. Here are some recommendations of places to search for in your area:

• courses offered by your employer, union or workers association
• courses offered by a local university or college
• courses offered by a nonprofit conflict resolution association
• courses offered by a community mediation association, which might also require volunteer work to be completed
• courses offered or mentioned by a local mediation association

Step 2: Become a Member to a Mediation Association         

Next, we recommend that you search for a mediation association that offers memberships and/or accreditation. Even if you do not have the experience as a mediator, you might be able to join one of these associations as a student or simply as a contributing member. Such an association will help connect you with different courses and practical learning experiences, in addition to networking opportunities, which will prove critical in your journey to become a mediator.

Very often, such an association might also be able to provide you with credibility as a practitioner, if you're able to register as a qualified mediator and receive official status as a mediator within your region. They might also provide a way receive credentials as a practitioner, which will go a long way when trying to get your first clients. Also, experienced mediators will be more comfortable to invite you along to observe different mediation sessions if you have a basic knowledge of the process. Through simple observation, you will learn a great deal of how to develop your own practice as a mediator.

Step 3: Get on the Mediate2go.com Directory and Case Manager

Next, we recommend that you register with our directory of mediation professionals. In doing so, you will send a clear message to other mediators and potential clients that you have the experience and qualifications necessary to provide services. This can be an affordable way of launching your own mediation practice. In addition, you sent a message that you are part of a community a third-party neutrals, not simply a standalone practitioner. Sign up here for a directory listing.

In addition, Mediate2go.com provides the most affordable case management system on the marketplace, which will help you take care of managing your client's information, scheduling, keep track of case information and also help you look like a competent practitioner, with features such as digital agreements. Imagine walking into mediation room with your iPad or tablet and having your clients sign their agreement to mediate on the device. Clients will perceive you as a competent and professional mediator.

Step 4: Observe Mediation

Once you have attended some training, develop relationships with experienced mediators. Mention to them they you are interested in observing as many mediation sessions as possible in order to develop insights into practice. While it might take asking several mediators before you hear a positive response, continue to ask until you are invited to a session. Generally, clients are okay with this.

Step 5: Volunteer as a Community Mediator

Offering to volunteer as a community mediator is one of the best ways of learning how to help others resolve their conflicts and developing a reputation as a mediator. Very often, community mediation centers or clinics have been established to offer free conflict resolution services to people in the community. For example, a city might fund neighborhood mediation programs to help disputing tenants and landlords resolve their issues in order to avoid the hassle of going to an administrative tribunal. This experience might provide a great deal of credibility to you as a developing practitioner, say you are able to tell potential clients that you completed a certain number of mediation sessions, even if they were unpaid. Create a profile on Mediate2go.com as a peer mediator to get started today!

Step 6: Find a Niche or Specialization

Next, we recommend that you take a look at your expertise in other areas.                

Although as a mediator, you will not provide advice or decisions related to the outcome of the dispute for your parties, your specialization in another field might help clients feel more comfortable with you. For example, if two accounting firms are having a complex dispute, they might prefer a mediator with an accounting background. Such a mediator might be more familiar with how things work in that particular field, and are thus better prepared to ask the right questions, to help the clients resolve their own issues. A mediator doesn’t resolve their client’s problems, but they help their clients resolve their own problems. In addition, you might have a lot of connections within a particular community, which might be a potential market for you to provide free or paid mediation services. Get onto the Mediate2go.com directory right away to build credibility within your market.

Step 7: Offer Co-Mediation

Once you have some basic mediation experience under your belt, speak with some peers in the field and ask if you may sit with them as a co-mediator. While some mediators prefer not to offer co-mediation sessions, co-mediation provides a great way of helping third-party neutrals connect better with their clients to help them feel represented. How does this work? For example, some mediators will invite a co-mediator to assist in a mediation session, in order to help the client feel that they are represented in terms of gender, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation or background. This way, there is a lower likelihood that the mediators will be perceived as biased towards one side due to their background. Co-mediation provides an easy way of learning from another professional, while starting to practice some of the necessary skills in conflict resolution directly with clients. You can also promote this on the Mediate2go.com mediator directory.

Step 8: Offer Mediation Services for Free

By this time, you will hopefully receive some form of accreditation by a local mediation association. This way, clients will be more likely to access your services. However, at the start of your practice, you might be required to offer free mediation services in order to gain more experience. Continue to do so until you feel that it would be appropriate to charge based on your competence and if the clients feel comfortable doing so. This is often a decision based on the market and what clients are willing to do. Keep receipts, even for free services in case you need prove when applying for accreditation, if you have not already done this. Don't forget to state this on your directory to get more clients!

Mediate2go.com Free Trial: Case Management, Digitized Agreements, Secure Messaging

Step 9: Start a Newsletter and Use Social Media

In addition to signing up for a Mediate2go.com directory listing, sign up for our premium version, which will allow you to build a newsletter. This will help you maintain your reputation as an expert in the field of conflict resolution. Use social media sites and start sharing material on conflict resolution. The more material you post, the more clients will feel connected to you. Don't forget to set up your Mediate2go.com directory and continue to add all the training you have gained over time.

Step 10: Attend More Training and Conferences

Lastly, start or continue to attend as much training and as many conferences as possible in order to continuously update your skillset and knowledge in the field. This is crucial to becoming a good mediator with regards to competence and also in terms of building your business through potential networking opportunities. If you have developed skills within a particular niche of mediation, start to share this knowledge by offering your own training information at various conferences. This can help you build your credibility as a specialist within this field. Sign up for the Mediate2go.com social media accounts, just search for Mediate2go on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linked in and more!

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